Naturally occurring polymers with biomedical applications

bioprinting

Bioprinting is layer-by-layer manufacturing using living cells. Small groups of cells are “printed” in precise patterns that can be built up in layers by printing one layer on top of another. With the right materials, these layers can form complex 3-dimensional structures, designed using clinical images from MRI and CT scans, that approximate living tissue. There are grande claims made by those who’s research involves bioprinting, such as one day being able to print functional organs for transplant, but its real future…

Natural biomaterials inherently provide biological signals and stimuli. When chosen properly, those natural properties aid in different types of healing. With some amount of hard work, synthetic materials can be modified to mimic some of these natural signals. Cen Chen, et al., have produced an open access review in Biomaterials Research that summarizes the presentations from a 2015 Korea-China joint symposium on biomimetic materials. Their paper does not focus on natural materials, but illustrates the amount of work put in…